Automobile enthusiasts often desire to customize the appearance of their vehicles, including to achieve certain “retro” or nostalgic design looks, by adding after-market trims, panels, accessories and the like. Historically, these looks have been achieved by costly professional paint jobs but in recent years these add-on products are typically attached to the exterior surface of the vehicle by bulky, relatively expensive permanent or semi-permanent methods or by methods which may damage the surface or finish of the vehicle and which are themselves prone to undesirable deterioration to their finish during normal usage. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,559, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a decorative plate for the rear of a vehicle which is affixed to the vehicle by bolts extending through the vehicle's rear panel. The type of decorative panel exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,559 suffers from several well-known disadvantages including, most notably, the fact that holes must be drilled through the vehicle paneling to accommodate the bolts, often times requiring the employ of costly auto body professionals, and irreversibly damaging the vehicle's paneling. Thus, if in the future the vehicle owner wishes to change to a different appearance, costly body remodeling and paint work may be required. Further, because of its hard, inflexible material, this type of mounting does not permit the decorative panel to lay flush against the vehicle panel and thus may allow dirt and debris to accumulate behind the decorative plate which can have undesired effects on the exterior look and finish of the area. The inability to achieve a flush fit also has the further drawback of creating undesirable gaps through which the underlying vehicle finish may be visible, which may detract from the desired appearance. Generally, these mountings must also be painted to achieve the final desired finish which may become scratched and chipped during normal operation of the vehicle, also resulting in a sub-optimal appearance.
Other decorative accessories have been affixed to vehicles using adhesive-tape, frequently double-sided foam tape, as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 7,087,132, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Adhesive tapes, especially those capable of remaining adhered for an extended time and during adverse weather conditions, also are capable of damaging the paint or finish of the vehicle's exterior if removal of the accessory is desired. The adhesive may pull the finish off the vehicle panel, may discolor the vehicle's finish, or may leave a residue, such as adhered foam in the case of double-sided foam tape. Thus, these generally hard and inflexible accessories, which typically must be painted, suffer from the same drawbacks of expense, sub-optimal appearance and effects due to a non-flush fit and damage to the underlying vehicle finish upon removal.
Others have proposed embedding solid magnets in decorative or protective strips, paneling or the like such that the accessory may be reversibly adhered to the vehicle without causing damage thereto. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,176, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a magnetic car door protector comprising a plurality of small, flat, powerful magnets embedded in a flexible strip. The use of solid magnets of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,176 necessitates a substantial degree of thickness to the accessory strip which limits the range of applications and decorative features that are achievable.
Still others have attempted to apply sheets of plastic material similar to those used for adding tint to vehicle windows. These sheets are applied by way of an arduous, time-consuming and often frustrating process similar to wallpapering whereby adhesive is on one side of a sheet and a soapy solution and squeegee-like tool is used to attach it in the proper orientation with minimal bubble and wrinkles which result in a sub-optimal fit and appearance. This material also has poor wear resistance and is prone to scratching and other deterioration of the desired finish. Finally, it generally must be scraped off, resulting in damage to the underlying finish and the need for costly professional repair and re-painting.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need in the art for improved decorative and/or protective add-ons to vehicles which are wear-resistant, non-destructive, easy to apply, remove, and re-install and capable of a flush fit to the vehicle surface in order to support a wide range of decorative elements. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide decorative and/or protective strips, panels, and the like for modifying the exterior or a vehicle which overcome the foregoing deficiencies of the prior art.